Why this particular subject hit my brain - I do not know. My brain is NOT like other people's. I'm always glad that no one can see my weird, crazy, idiotic and fruitcaky dreams. They would probably put me in a padded cell and throw away the key.
But ......... nurses have been an integral part of our life for the last 16 years, since the car accident in which my husband was paralyzed. After that time, there were broken legs from falling out of his chair, ICU stays with Septicemia and a few times he was within hours of death. Throughout all of those hospital stays and in home health care, we have encountered MANY nurses.
During my ICU stay after the accident, I had both ICU nurses and then floor nurses. My granddaughter, DJ, had nurses over a period of 2 years while she battled her auto-immune hepatitis and liver transplant. So we have seen an abundance of nurses on many many occasions.
Let me tell you - those nurses are the heroes of any hospital. Yes - the doctors are important (very), but the day to day, hour to hour care is what makes or breaks a person's hospital stay. I've seen some awful, awful nurses, but I've also seen nurses that cared for their patients with every fiber of their body. Several incidents stand out that I want to write about further.
One time when Charley was in ICU, his doctor didn't think he would make it through the night. Those nurses hovered over him like angels - constantly making sure everything was right. He was on high powered medicine that they needed to wean him off of as soon as possible (no medical degree, just quoting what they said!). His nurses spent hours lowering the doseage, and watching him like a hawk. When his stats would drop - they would immediately be at his beside, adjusting his meds. Eventually, those nurses got him weaned off the high powered meds a day sooner than was thought possible. They were amazing angels!
Every single time DJ went to Phoenix Children's Hospital, she was surrounded by walking talking, caring angel nurses. I don't think my vocabulary is adequate to explain how fabulous they were. Didn't matter what was wrong - they were on it. They kept her upbeat, encouraged her, talked to her when she was down, explained every detail of what they were doing - and by the end of each stay, they felt like family. If something beeped from all the zillion tubes they had running into her body, in seconds her room would be filled with angel nurses - coming to the rescue. One male nurse always took his lunch break with her in her room. They talked while lunching, and those lunches always lifted D.J.'s spirits. Just literally amazing.
My particular time with nurses had two distinct opposites. I had the usual birth nurses, and outpatient nurses etc., but the one I remember second most wasn't because she was good. Quite the opposite. Evidently I had a minor stroke (think a blood clot dislodged from my hysterectomy), and Charley rushed me to the ER. I was terrified. I couldn't speak except for a long drawn-out word that took minutes to even form and force out of my mouth. I couldn't walk, I couldn't use my arms or hands - I was pretty much helpless. Did I mention terrified????? In the ER room, I started crying and one of the nurses literally barked at me and asked why I was crying. It took forever to get out one word, "Scared!" She was nasty, told me I had nothing to be scared about, and yelled at me to stop crying. Later, when I filled out a questionnaire, I mentioned this nurse. I got a personal phone call from the administrator saying they were glad I had mentioned this matter, and that they had gotten complaints about her before. So my question is ........ why is she still nursing? Fire her butt - particularly when she is dealing with ER cases in which the patient is terrified and very sick!
The next two still makes my heart glad after 16 years. Charley was already in the Mayo hospital in Rochester, Minnesota after the car accident, but I was still in Mason City, Iowa. I hadn't been cut out of the van in time to go with Charley on the helicopter to Mayo. In ICU, my nurses were nothing short of spectacular. I was on high powered pain meds which made me feel like I was going to burst into flames at any moment. My sweet nurse turned the air down in my room until it was a refrigerator, and then she wore sweaters and sweats to keep herself warm. When a young smart-ass doctor came in and examined me and was rude, arrogant and heartless, she caught me crying. I explained, and she marched herself out the door and laid into that doctor like no tomorrow. I could hear her berating him - about how I was in so much pain, and had such a horrible trauma and I didn't need him treating me like garbage, etc. etc. At the end of her shift one day, she came in to say goodbye, and told me she was going home to take a HOT bath and have hot chocolate! Yet she suffered the cold in my room so I would be comfortable. I will never forget her kindness.
I was finally transferred to a regular hospital room. The night before I was to leave and go be with Charley in Mayo, everything just piled up on me, and I just lost it. It was late at night, I was still hurting from my injuries, and I was terrified. I had on earphones and music my brother had bought for me, so I didn't even know I was making any audible noise crying. The nurse came in, asked me what was wrong, and I let it all spill out. The terror of having a paralyzed husband, and all that would entail, and still having lots of pain from my own injuries. She sat on the bed, put her arms around me and rocked me while I cried. I'm sure she told me I was strong and could do it ...... but what I remember most is her holding me and letting me cry. Again - a nurse angel that was there at the exact right time.
So if you have or will have a nurse for something, remember this - they are human. They hurt, breathe, have dreams and live just like we do. Not in a million years could I EVER be a nurse - so I admire them enormously! Tell them how wonderful they are, and how much they are appreciated. It might be the only kind word they have all day.
Thank you Angel nurses all over the US. Peace and love.
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